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V V 2 Sheets-Shee t 1. R.-BISHOP & R. W. EAMES.

ELEVATED ENDLESS SINGLE TRACK RAILWAY.

No. 288,400. Patented Nov. 13. 1883.

g W 4 M (No Model.)

IN ENTOR Maw W mw ATTORNEYS.

WITNESSES I 2Sheets-Sheet 2- W. R; BISHOP 81; R. W. EAMES. ELEVATED ENDLESS SINGLE TRACK RAILWAY.

(No Model.)

INVENTDR Patented Nov. 13, 1883.

ATTORNEYS. v

UNITE STATES. PATENT ruins.

WILLIAM R. BISHOP AND RYLAND WEAMEs, or COLUMBUS, ooLonAno.

ELEVATED ENDLESS SINGLE-TRACK RAILWAY.

I SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 288,400, dated November 13, 1883.

Application filedAugust 2, 1882. (No model.)

Endless Single-Track Railway, .of which the.

following is a full, clear, andexact description. Our invention consists of an endless elevated single-rail railwaynpon which cars are to be operated by an endless cable.

The object of our invention is, first, cheapness of construction in using a single rail; second, durability by relieving the cable of all unnecessary weight by. suspending the load .from a car upon the track, instead of being attached to the cable; third, to produce a rotary tramway, thereby increasing the capacity of its performance.

Our invention also consists of a kind of ex:

pansion-j ointin the endlessrailway spoken of, the object of which is to allow the drum, where the cable reverses at the end of the road, to

shift forward and backward as the length of effect of the incline of the road. The object of this feature of the invention is to further relieve the cable of unnecessary strain, the cable only being used to haul up the empty cars, the loaded cars braking themselves "down the steep incline of the road, all as hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims. I

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification,

in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a side elevation of the lap-joint contrivance for regulating the tension of the endless cable. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the track. Fig. 4 is a side elevation, showing the automatic brake attached to each car; and Big. 5

. is a plan view of thebrake contriyance of the drum around which the endless cable reverses at the end of the line.

The main wayconsists of the T-rails a, at-.

. cable.

represents the top cross-timbers supporting the said stringers b and the rails thereon, and d the posts supporting saidcross-timbers.

The cars consist of frames e f, of any approved kind, having upper and lower wheels, 9 h, grooved to fit the upper and lower sides of the rail, and so fitted to the rail that the flanges of the grooves of the wheels, together with the load-carrier d, suspended; below the,

cars by a rod, t, secure the cars on the rails.

The cars are attachedto an endless wire cable, j, which is itself suspended by the cars, so as to prevent sagging, except between. the cars, and this cable passes around drums m at each end of the way, for returning the cars to the starting point. These drums are provided with powerful brake devices, consisting of a.

brake wheel or drum, n, against which brakeshoes 0, attached to beams 19, are powerfully drawn by the levers q, chains 1", and hand wheel and shafts, to control the speed of the cars. We propose to mount one of these drums say at the ore-house-on a kind of lapjoint of the track or way, so that it can shift backward and forward as the cable lengthens and shortens, and thereby enable the cable to have uniform tension at all times. For this purpose we mount the drum m on a frame, it, which is itself mounted on rollers 10, working on an-' other short and permanently-fixed track, to, below, so that said frame 15 canshift along said track a short distance each way, and to one end of the frame we attacha chain, a, and a heavy weight, g, to maintainthe tension of the On'the upper part of said frame it, but

below the terminal sections of'the rails a, we

locate other rails, a, sufficiently lower than rails a to enable the lower wheels, 71, of the cars to run on them, and the timbers I), extending over frame t, are supported on rollers b, resting on frame t. This,together with timbers b of the extension-frame, and overlapping the terminal part of thepermanent way, forms the lap by which the cars pass from permanent rails a to extension-rails a, enabling the drum m to shift forward and backward as the cable lengthens and shortens. I

For the automatic gravity-brake contrivance, we attach the arm 0 to the rod '5, by which the bucket is suspended from the car,

. and connect said arm with brake-levers e by rod f, said levers being pivoted at g, so as to bear the brakes h on the wheels, whereby the inclination of the car on an incline descending toward the left hand of the drawing, the bucket remaining in a vertical line, depresses said levers c with respect to the car. The spring 1" releases the brakes when the car assumes a level position, and it will be seen that when the car turns around at the end of the road and returns uphill the weight will keep the brakes off the wheels. Moreover, the amount of the depression of the brakes varies in proportion to the inclination of the descent, so that the steeper the grade is the harder the brakes will bear.

The car-frame cf is jointed to afford ample freedom of movement of the wheels around the curved tracks at the drums, and the buckets or carriers (1 have self-dumping bottoms, to be unlatched for opening, and to be closed and latched automatically by suitable trip-levers and standards fixed at any desired point on the line. 7 Having thus fully described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- I .1. In an endless single-track railway, the combination, with an endless cable, of drums around which the cable passes, brake devices for'said drums, and means for applying the same, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. In an endless single-track railway, the combination, with the main track, of a movable frame carrying one of the drums around which the endless cable passes, and provided with a track forming a lap joint with said main track,

' substantially as herein shown and described.

3. In an endless single-track railway, the combination, with the main track, of a movable frame carrying one of the drums around which the endless cable passes, and provided 0 with a track forming a lap -j oint with the main track, and a chain attached to said frame, and provided with a weight at its end, substantially as herein shown and described.

4. In an endless single-track railway, the combination,with the drums m, provided with the brake-wheels n, of the brake-shoes 0, the levers q, the chains 1*, and hand-wheels 8, substantially as herein shown and described.

5. In an endless single-track railway, the combination,with the tracks a w, of the frame it, provided with track a and wheels u, and carrying one of the drumsm, the chain 00, and weight y, substantially as herein shown and described. 7 Y

6. In an endless single-track railway, the combination,with the tracks a w, of the frame 25, provided with the track a and the wheels lie, and carrying one of the drums m, the chain w, and weight y, substantially as herein shown and described.

7. In an endless single-track railway, the combination, with the carriage e f g h and the carrier (7/, suspended therefrom by rod 1', of the arm 0, the rod f brake-levers e, brakes h, and 65 spring z, substantially as herein shown and described.

WILLIAM R. BISHOP. RYLAND W. EAMES.

Witnesses:

CHAS; J. J ENNER, JOHN ToMs. 

